For anyone who lives in an area where snow storms, sand storms, falling leaves, or pebbles can accumulate, for example on a beach front after a hurricane, or in snowy areas, there is need for a way to remove quickly and efficiently the accumulated debris. Two technologies exist, either the vacuuming and accumulation system of the debris or a shovel (i.e. push) to help push the debris into accumulation zones. The following invention relates generally to a tool for the manual removal of debris and not the automated vacuum-based family of tools. As part of the current description of this new invention, the description is often related to the most common needs, the snow removal aspect and the use of the word shovel. In fact, what is contemplated as part of this disclosure is technology that can be used and adapted to any type of debris on a flat and mostly horizontal surface removed by manual labor or using any type of vehicle or tool.
To better understand the novel features of this new shovel assembly, we must first understand that several important constraints are unique to this field of technology. First, shovels are generally bulky and requires hand coordination and are therefore sold at home product retail surfaces where potential users can test in limited working conditions the products. The shipment by mail of these products remains today impracticable. Because of limited floor space of the retail giants who stock these products, they often prefer to offer a limited number of products which can be adapted, each to service a wider number of customers. Therefore, in this industry, there is a deeply-rooted need for products capable of adaptation even if any given user might only require a new shovel at one configuration. Retailers, faced with floor space restrictions, also try and stock the smallest and lightest products.
In addition to having to meet the needs of distributors and retailers, the same shovels must satisfy the unique needs of users and purchasers which varies greatly. Some need shovels to clear their long driveways, others live in a busy street corner, some have unique features on their landscape which require specific attention. Each of these users also has a different storage capacity, for example many real-estate renters will only have limited garage area. Some other owners might need to shovel around a motorhome parked in a lot and the shovel assembly would need to be stored in bins below the motorhome. Some other shovels are purchased by energetic students with the entrepreneur virus to clear the driveways of multiple street neighbors; these devices must be sturdier than ordinary.
Because of this wide range of needs, a valuable shovel will suit the greater number of customers, and consequently a lower number of shovels will have to be stocked by a retailer to satisfy all of the needs of its customer base. In a perfect world, a shovel would have no weight yet have inertia to push shown. It would be sturdy enough not to break or get damaged under normal and exceptional use, yet be easily collapsible. The perfect shovel would be adapted for long period of storage and temporary storage between two successive snowstorms and of course its manufacturing price would be very low. Finally, the perfect shovel could easily be adapted for the user's own height and strength. Therefore, novel features are important in this art, but their combination on a single shovel are also key to a better product. The current invention describes a shovel assembly which as a whole, greatly improves on existing technology and meets the needs of many more customers and retail managers.
Shovels all include a front blade, curved in one way or another with a bottom edge. Under gravity, the blade scrapes on the ground as the shovel is pushed forward to collect the snow. This blade is attached to some type of handle which can be held and pushed by the user using his or her hands or sometimes a bar is provided to push using the center of gravity. The handle is attached behind the blade in a way which allows easy control over the movement of the shovel blade. In most models, the blade is a thin and curved piece of stainless steel or aluminum. Rivets or bolts are punched into the metal blade to attach a single wooden handle or a U-shape bar. On each handle is placed a plastic hand-sized grip or a polymer handle. In some other models, a vertical hinge between the back of the blade and the handle allows a user to flip the blade and use both sides of the blade once one is damaged.
Shovel blades can be made of multiple segments. U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,734, teaches how lateral extender pieces, formed with curved segments with lateral support and holes can be added to a central piece using bulky and heavy pins. This reference teaches the creation of a single wide blade, with one handle and up to five segments. The effective portion of the blade in contact with the snow is filled with ribs, pins, and other heavy elements making the use of this product impracticable at best. In addition, because of assembly tolerance, the blade once assembled is not whole or strong. A decade after this first technology was disclosed, U.S. Pat. No. 7,237,814, showed how two small shovels can be paired at their internal junction and how a connecting piece can unite the two handles of the united shovels. Several latching mechanism are shown, they include a straight C-shape connector, a series of tab openings, and walls and knobs. In each configuration the shovel remains heavy, impracticable to use, and the snow cleaning area is filled with ribs, ridges, and walls. What is needed is a shovel assembly designed to operate relatively in the same way a single shovel when extended to a wider removal area.
Next, shovels are often used over multiple different surfaces to push different types of products. The edge upon which the shovel resides is an important element of the shovel. If only an inch of light snow has fallen on a flat newly-paved driveway, a flat angled edge might be preferable to quickly move snow. If the same snow has fallen on grass, what may be desired is a different type of edge capable of movement without damaging the surface or the edge. A person could, for example, use a shovel to remove heavy snow from a roof. Since frozen roofing material is often vulnerable puncture and rips, a shovel must be able to be used in such a condition (using other safety equipment) to protect the roof while pushing the heavy snow.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/387,214, published as U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0178646, teaches how a flat metal blade can be bent in a C-shape and where both the top end and the bottom end can be used alternatively. A top edge has a rounded tip and the other has the normal end of a flat and bent sheet of metal. The use of a rounded edge as described is used at the end of a horizontal segment which slides on the ground to capture within the C-shape the content for removal. What is needed is a assembly which offers greater versatility and flexibility of options to users of shovels over this existing technology.
A third key feature is the way shovels are held and handled during snow removal. Over the centuries, multiple new tools have been invented to help users with the manipulation of different shovels. Different types of handles, guides, and other attachments help this technology improve slowly over time. The proper handling of a shovel, much like any other hand held equipment, is very complicated. The blade must be balanced or it will damage a wrist. The tool must be able to be lifted from the ground and shook to remove snow. The blade must be designed in a way which allows swift movement and evacuation or collection of the debris located in the blade.
To name a few, U.S. Pat. No. 8,166,677 teaches how shoulder pads can be mounted on a handle to help transfer momentum from a user to the blade. While this technology appears at a glance to be useful, in fact each time a rock or difficult edge is encountered by the blade, the force is driven directly into the spine of the user. The use of hands on a blade allows for the cushioning of any back force resulting from uneven ground conditions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,883 teaches another version of a possible handle which incorporates four different handles, two in lower position and two in upper orientation. This type of technology is designed to give a user an option as to which hand is better suited for the use. For example, if the snow is light and fluffy, the user can extend his or her arms and push with an angle closer to his or her center of gravity. If the snow is heavier, the same user can bend the arms and rely on his or her center of gravity to push.
One other important feature of snow blades is the mechanism used to attach a handle to the blade. What is needed is the capacity to tilt or change the orientation of the blade while at the same time giving enough strength to the shovel so it can be lifted and manipulated without the blade falling down. U.S. application Ser. No. 12/459,607, published as U.S. Publication No. 2011/000132 teaches how a three axis pins and pistons system can be used to quickly adapt and fix the blade orientation compared to the handle in any position. Such a system is heavy, complex, and costly. U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,580 shows how a pivot can be incorporated into the blade. This pivot will over time be damaged, may jamb with snow, and more importantly does not allow for the blade to be rigid in any given orientation. As the user lifts the blade to remove snow stuck to it, the blade can tilt down to hurt a leg. What is needed is a improved system which is cheap, easy to manipulate and durable.
What is needed is a single shovel assembly, having improved blade, handle, connection, and symmetry features which result in a new a multiple new way and methods to shovel snow, or store the shovel. While each improved features, by themselves, is an improvement over the art, their combination as part of a single shovel results in a very useful product.